RNC treasurer blames chairman in debt flap

The Republican National Committee failed to report more than $7 million in debt to the Federal Election Commission in recent months, a report said late Tuesday night, with the organization’s treasurer accusing Chairman Michael Steele and his chief of staff of trying to conceal the information.

RNC Treasurer Randy Pullen told RNC budget committee members in a memo on Tuesday that he had discovered $3.3 million in debt from April and $3.8 million from May, the Washington Times reported. Pullen said those discoveries led him to file erroneous reports with the FEC and he amended the filings Tuesday.

Citing campaign-finance analysts, the Times said that misreporting fundraising numbers to the FEC can lead to millions of dollars in fines and that criminal charges are possible if the actions are suspected to be intentional. The RNC’s communications director told the paper that it was “standard practice” for party committees to file amended reports to comply with FEC disclosure requirements.

Pullen said that Michael Leavitt, Steele’s chief of staff, tried to limit his access to the unreported past-due bills that the RNC owes for goods and services, the Times reported. Pullen said that Leavitt was acting on orders from Steele. The RNC denies that claim.

This is the latest unwanted attention attracted by the RNC. Earlier this month, Steele found himself in hot water with fellow Republicans by suggesting that the war in Afghanistan was unwinnable and was “a war of Obama’s choosing.” And in March, the RNC took flak for spending about $2,000 at a sex-themed club in Los Angeles.